Garfield High School Escalante Auditorium

Los Angeles, California

Firm

John Sergio Fisher & Associates, Inc.

Client

Los Angeles Unified School District

Area

44,235 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$25,500,000

Completion Date

10/2014

The auditorium interior design has a capacity of 1,300 seats; 330 are in the orchestra section and the remainder in the parterre, which rises to a second-story outdoor lobby, separated by a cross aisle level with the stage for easy wheelchair access.
An orchestra pit with a motorized platform provides a stage thrust or an additional 35 seats.
There are roll drops with black scrims that fall on the railing at the back of the cross aisle to visually reduce the capacity of the seating. The side walls are lined with 30-foot-tall windows that have angled solar control devices on the exterior. Acoustical banners black out the windows during the day or when the hall needs dampening. The chamber also has adjustable reverberation times from 1 second for the sound system or unreinforced drama to 1.7 seconds for band and orchestra. There are also moving draperies at the rear of the tension grid and along the side walls.
The diamond-shaped coffered ceiling is reminiscent of the former ceiling. It has tapered flutes that help diffuse the sound waves.